


Acecapades: Sidrezara Sends His Regards

by one_true_houselight



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual, Assault, Dragons, Fantasy, Gen, Language, multi-chapter, non-binary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2018-11-23 05:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11396304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_true_houselight/pseuds/one_true_houselight
Summary: Can three aces and a dragon save the world?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is a story that happened accidentally. I was looking to tell stories on tumblr, and some amazing anon asked: "A dude needs to find his pet dragon who is attracted by (insert item here)." And suddenly I had written almost two thousand words and had barely gotten started. So I moved it over to AO3 and started doing some actual planning. And now we have this. I am breaking it up more, adding things, editing. Fun times.
> 
> Happy Reading!
> 
> UPDATE  
> Hi! So this story is going to get some pretty major reworks in the next couple of months, hopefully. I posted a whole thing about Sage from Cat's point of view on my tumblr (one-true-houselight) if you want more/stuff closer to where this will be going. Thanks for reading!

_Back when the universe was thinking about teenage rebellion, the conflict between those who could use magic and those who could not came to a head. Those without were frightened they would wake up as a newt, and the magic users were tired of being set on fire or thrown in duck ponds. Finally, a delegation made up of representatives from both sides made an agreement: the magic and non magic worlds would be split. People with and without magic could live on either side, but they had to accept the rules and standards of the side they chose. This was not, of course, the ideal situation, but it stopped the fighting. Hundreds of years passed without incident, until one day students in what is now Efrana got together and decided to try and contact their sister planet. Through many magical efforts (described at length in_ A Guide to the Great Reunification _), they finally established contact. Their message was picked up by Earth students because of course it was. As the students exchanged stories, they decided it was high time to try and bring their worlds back together. And after campaigns on both sides, a free exchange and travel agreement was reached. Part of that agreement was regulating the monsters of Efrana, because it was unlikely that Earth was prepared to have shape shifters and dragons and such roaming about all of a sudden. And all was well; many people benefitted from the exchange in ideas, and a whole new world opened up to humans everywhere._

__

__

_Of course, there was opposition. Earth opposition was fueled by the system of beliefs they had developed during the separation, and it found magic to be against the natural order. Efrana opposition feels it was spitting on ancient traditions by letting in this new ‘technology’ from Earth. And many monsters resented their confinement, even leading bloody rampages in protest. But it all was soon forgotten, as the planes Unified._

\- A Quick and Dirty History of Efrana, **Now with more colloquialism!**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry slowly opened his eyes and groaned at the sunlight stabbing him in the face. He looked over at the clock and read 7:23.  
“Alicia, you know not to open the freaking curtain while I’m still asleep.” Terry waited for the guttural tones of his pet’s reply, but was instead greeted by silence. He decided that she probably bumped into it during the night and was currently somewhere else in the house. He dragged the blankets back over his head as he curled into a ball. He had gotten in from work at 1 the night before after striking a three truck show, like hell he was going to let a bit of sunlight wake him up…

When he was jolted awake a few hours later, his mind was filled with the cobwebs that come after waking up from sleep you didn’t realize had started. He looked over at the clock as he slowly started piecing his current condition together. 11:37.

‘Well,’ he thought, ‘not bad, considering the last couple of days.’ He hadn’t started work later than 9:30 that week, and usually started much earlier.

As he reflected on his work schedule, the catalyst for his awakening repeated itself: a loud knock at the door. He sighed and swung his legs out of bed. When he looked down at them, he saw they were clad with the pants he had been wearing the night before. He must have been more tired than he thought…

He peeked out the window next to the door and let out an almost inaudible squeak. It was Sage, a friend from down the street that he may or may not have been harboring feelings for. Terry cursed and tried to fix his dark hair. He gave up when he reached the door, which he flung open. He realized it was unlocked. However, before he could think about the implications of that fact, Sage barreled into his home.

“Sage, good to see you. Want some-”

“We don’t have time.” Their hazel eyes focused on Terry. “Damn, are you ok? You look like hell.” Sage looked a little rumpled themselves, their hair in a messier bun than usual, but Terry knew they didn’t hold a candle to his no-doubt messy state.

“I’m fine, late call last night. What are you doing here?” Sage turned around and squinted at him.

“I saw Alicia. Since I didn’t see you with her, I wanted to check on you.” They said this with what to anyone else would sound like obviously calculated nonchalance, but Terry was too busy trying not to be flattered at their concern for his wellbeing. “But you’re fine. So why was Alicia outside?”

“Wait. You saw Alicia outside?” The fact that had been pushed away a few minutes ago-the unlocked door-came tumbling back into his mind. “CRAP,” he yelled as he ran to the kitchen. His worries were confirmed when he rounded the corner: a large, glowing moth was sitting by Alicia’s dish, smirking (at least, as much as a moth can smirk). Terry rocked forward a little bit as Sage ran into him, and proceeded to ignore their mumbled apologies and uncharacteristic blush in favor of cursing out the moth.

Sage composed themselves and stared at their friend, confusion and admiration fighting for dominance on their face. They of course recognized the moth as one of the spells gone awry by Louise. She was trying to make extra potent mothballs, but instead conjured a bunch of these otherworldly insects. Sage had never been terribly bothered by them, but to be fair, they couldn’t communicate with them.

Terry, on the other hand, had a head for languages-literally. He was another magic user, and part of the way his powers manifested was in the ability to understand and communicate in any language. Well. Almost any language. He and Sage had a friend from the far away land of New York, New York and Terry was only able to get about half of what he said like everyone else. But he was able to talk to the moths, and was using that power in earnest in front of Sage.

Sage took the chance to look at Terry. They were both ace, which is one of the reasons they became friends, but Sage had started falling for him romantically over the last month. They didn’t fall for people unless they were close friends, so it was kind of a compliment. At least, that’s what Sage said to themselves in order to escape the terror of possibly ruining their friendship. They didn’t want a repeat of Kathy. And Sage knew there was no way Terry felt anything for them, so they decided to do what they always did: ignore the feelings in the hopes they would crawl back into whatever hole they came from.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter!

_10 May_

_I got the last talking timer to stop singing some Earth song about a Final Countdown or something. Where they get these things I don’t know. Was just about to sit down to lunch when I heard a knock at the door. It was a boy, 15 years old. He’s been having to hide his power; I believe he has a head for languages, given he would occasionally insert German or Elven words into the conversation without realizing it. He didn’t tell me much, but I think he is homeless. He also stared at my ring for a while; maybe he’s ace, and that’s why he had to leave? He’s sleeping on the couch right now. I think I might see if he wants to stay with me until he is of age in a year, get him off to a school._

_11 May_

_I got my order of talking timers out today! When Terry (the boy from yesterday) woke up, he seemed more open to talking. He had been walking for a couple days after crossing dimensions, and hadn’t brought quite enough water. He told me his parents kicked him out for magic, which is unfortunately common in small pockets on Earth. I felt he wasn’t telling me everything (I managed to fuss about his collar long enough to establish a connection), but I don’t want to push. He is agreeing to stay with me for the time being, so hopefully I’ll get more of the story. Since I got those timers out, I have some time to spend working with him._

\- Excerpt from Louise’s Diary

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry was pissed. He had been dealing with Thomas (the moth) for a few weeks now. When the moths had first appeared in the colored smoke, he had been walking with Alicia about a quarter of a mile away. When he saw the explosion, he started running as soon as he realized it was coming from Louise’s house. It took him almost thirty seconds and Alicia’s yelling to remind him to cast Quick Feet.

Louise was basically his aunt; when his family had disowned him for a pile of reasons (they couldn’t decide whether his aceness or his magic was worse, so they had creative insults for both), Louise took him in and taught him everything she could. He was able to go to a local school for magic when he came of age, and now lived on his own, but he still visited Louise whenever he had a moment. Which is why seeing an explosion at her house freaked him out quite a bit. When he got there, he was relieved to find the house undisturbed. But when he walked up to the door, he had to duck as a wave of a couple dozen glowing insects shot out. Louise came running out behind them, sliding to a stop on the slick stones making up her garden path.  
“Terry! You look like you’re dying. Did you run for me, bless you.” Terry was out of breath, and therefore could only cock his head in confusion. Louise saw this as a cue to continue. “I thought I had perfected my formula for those highly effective moth balls-don’t you roll your eyes, boy-but when I finished, those bloody things appeared.”  
“Are we going… to get rid of them?” Terry was still gasping, but was finally able to make noise. His question was met with an affronted look from Louise.  
“What did I teach you? Unless it is going to severely endanger someone, we don’t just get rid of living things we create, even if they are mistakes.” She looked off after the iridescent cloud, then back at Terry. Her hair had escaped its purple headband as it usually did, frizzing from the explosion. “Well, as long as you’re here, I might as well feed you. Where’s Alicia?”

Terry looked behind him as he started to answer, but cut himself off when he realized Alicia was nowhere to be found. He called out, but didn’t get a response. He turned to Louise in a panic. She tutted and went inside, gesturing him to follow.

“If nothing else works, dragons can be summoned by a single thing they have imprinted themselves onto.” Louise was in full teacher mode, expertly walking backwards through her home so she could look at her student. “Now, in the days of yore, this was usually a piece of their treasure they hold in particularly high favor. However, a modern dragon requires a modern solution.”

“But I have no idea what her object might be! It could be anything. I need to go home and try all her stuff-”

Louise grabbed him by the shoulders until he talked himself into silence. When he finally did, she released him and said, “I have a theory. I’ve observed something interesting when you two visit. Whenever I pull out my apple cobbler, she always appears very quickly. Almost too quickly.”

Terry stared at her. After he determined there was no mischievous glint in her green eyes, he had to address her theory. “You think your Apple cobbler is her summoning object.” She looked offended, and Terry quickly backpedaled. “I mean, it’s perfectly good. Delicious, actually. It’s just-”

Before he could finish, he heard a familiar growl behind him. “Did I smell cobbler? Christ, it’s almost like it drew me here, it’s so good.” Terry tried (and failed) to avoid Louise’s ‘I told you so’ look.

“Alicia! Where the hell did you go?”

Alicia brushed dirt off her black scales. “I was hiding. From those rainbow abominations.” She shuddered.  
“You were scared of them?” She nodded. Terry’s mind raced. Maybe she knew them in the monster realm! Were they fearsome beasts? Did they do something to her? “Why? Are they your sworn enemy? Did they-”

“No.” She rolled her eyes and then shuddered again. “They’re just creepy. Isn’t that enough? God, you’re so dramatic.” She nodded thanks to Louise as she was handed cobbler. Terry stood dumbfounded.

And now, two weeks later, he was arguing with one of them. ‘If only I had known how annoying they would be back then,’ he thought. Thomas has apparently noticed Alicia’s fear as he flew away with his brethren, and decided it would be fun to goad the small dragon. So far, he had, among other things:  


> \- Dove in front of her and Terry while yelling “Mind if I drop in?”  
>  \- Hid in a library book that Alicia picked up (and ran before Sage could find the source of the screaming)  
>  \- Ran into the side of Alicia’s head in the village singing ‘Wrecking Ball’, making her fire breathe in defense. Terry had to repair the front of City Hall.

It took multiple reminders from Louise that being willfully annoying wasn’t enough reason to destroy the damn moth.

Lately, Thomas had found great pleasure in sneaking into Terry’s home because he could get a rise out of him AND Alicia. He had clearly decided today was a great day to continue this trend. Terry filtered out the numerous curses he was thinking before speaking again to the smug moth. “Didn’t I tell you to get lost?”

The moth lounged on the counter. “But scaring that stupid dragon is such fun. How could you expect me to resist?” Terry clenched his fists. He jumped a bit when Sage tapped him on the shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Sage had been standing there for about two minutes and was getting impatient. The only reason they had lasted this long was the fact that they had gotten to admire Terry- nope, ending that thought. Because they were reminiscing on-

“Sorry Sage. Let me tap you in.” Terry was able to patch people into the translations: they couldn’t talk, but could hear both sides of the conversation. He put his hand to their forehead, and ignored the heat in the tips of his ears.

He had fallen for Sage the moment he met them, but knew someone as amazing as they were wound never like him. He was surprised enough they were his friend. And that was another thing: even if they weren’t out of his league, their friendship was too important. After Louise, Sage was the most important person in his life. He owed them his life. No, he was perfectly content with things the way they were. Their friendship wasn’t less than his dreams of romance; it was just different. This train of thought was pushed from his mind as the moth prattled on.

“Damn it, get out of my house.” The moth chuckled at Terry’s anger and flew right over his head and out the open door. “God, he’s such a nuisance.”

“That doesn’t explain why you yelled and ran to the kitchen.”

“Alicia hates those things. And Thomas there thinks it’s funny to scare her. And I think I left the door unlocked last night, so she probably ran out the door when she saw him.” Sage nodded, which made them both realize Terry still had his hand on their head. He pulled it away and they both laughed (a bit forcefully, but neither noticed in their self-consciousness), which trailed off into an awkward silence. It wasn’t broken until Sage straightened up and spoke.

“Well, I guess we have to go find her. You want to get changed?” Terry looked down at his slept in clothes and nodded. “Ok. I’ll wait here?”

“That’s fine. Once I’m ready, we can go to Louise’s place.”

“Wait. What?” Sage stopped Terry from turning. “You know I love her too. But why do we need to go to her?”

Terry smiled slightly. “I’ll explain on the way. We need to get some apple cobbler.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I probably have 2-3 more chapters I can get from the stuff I wrote, and after that it will be slower updates as a warning. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos and all that jazz are cool!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains description of assault. I will also change tags. Let me know if I need to do anything else.

_Hello. I was just writing to remind you of something I have said many times, hoping that having a written copy might help remind you: My name is Sage and I use they/them pronouns._

_I can sense your arguments, so let me address them!_

> _But your parents chose your name, you shouldn’t try to change it!_

_My parents chose my name assuming I was a girl. I am not one, so I am choosing a name that fits that reality.

> But you’re so pretty, why would you not want to take advantage of that?

There are so many things to address here, but since I get this at least once a week, I am assuming you have heard me expound. Bottom line is: my gender is not for your pleasure and I’m ace stop trying to seduce me Brandon.

> You have long hair, that isn’t neutral! 

I am not going to dismantle the patriarchy for you. Hair isn’t gendered and it isn’t an excuse to deny my existence. I like my hair, so I keep it. I am neutral, so it is neutral.

> But they/them isn’t grammatically correct! 

Ignoring the fact that language evolves, you actually use they/them singularly all the time! Let me show you:_

_“Have you seen the mail carrier since last week? Gosh, I hope they’re ok.”  
“See that asshat over there? They won’t use my fucking pronouns.”_

_See? Easy!_

_Regards,_

_SAGE, THEY/THEM_

\- A discarded draft of a letter to Sage’s old neighbors. Not shown are the angry scribbles in the margins, the biggest one reading **‘Too harsh’**.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage and Terry passed a merchant’s stall on the way to Louise’s house.

“Wouldn’t you like to buy something for your lady friend?” Sage stiffened beside Terry, but grabbed his arm, silently telling him it’s not worth it. This same merchant did this every time they passed, no matter how many times Sage asked him to not gender them. Their hand subconsciously reached for their bright red hair, tracing the intricate braid they had crafted while Terry showered and changed. Terry saw them do this, and knew they were thinking about the same thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry met Sage about a week after Sage moved into town. Terry had loved the library ever since he found Louise. When he had been with her for about a week, he decided to visit the library to get some magic books. He stood in the magic section, adrenaline pounding through his veins. Years ago when his powers first started manifesting, he panicked. His family was very anti-magic, as was most of his town. So he had to learn about it (and consequently himself) in secret. The fact that he was standing here now with so much information at his fingertips, information he could read unabashedly, made him almost dizzy with excitement. 

After that first day, the library became one of his favorite places, only behind Louise’s house and his eventual home. One afternoon, he went in to look for books and to escape the smoke from Louise’s experiment. After about 15 minutes of browsing, he found a book with a belt around it. He grabbed it, his fingers sinking into the aged leather. He could no longer remember what the book was about, but he did remember turning around to find a library worker, and saw one with long, red hair in the most complex braid he had ever seen. It reached the small of their back, obscuring most of the Efranian cities listed on the back. Terry thought of his little sister who had loved fancy hairstyles whenever they went out. He felt a lump form in his throat at this thought, trying not to think about the last time he saw her. Even though it was three years ago, he still thought about her. He pushed it away as he approached the worker.

“Excuse me ma’am, I was wondering if you knew why this book is belted? I would prefer not to get cursed.” The worker turned around. Terry noticed what looked to be a nametag. Upon closer examination, he saw it read ‘They/Them & Gender Neutral terms, please!’. He looked up in a panic. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize-” He trailed off as his eyes met theirs. If someone had put a knife to his throat right then and told him to describe the color, he would have died, but not before squeaking out some flowery thing about sunlight in a forest. Before he had a chance to recover, the person spoke.

“Don’t worry about it. How I present isn’t meant to fix a binaried society. Just know for the future. I’m Sage.” They reached a hand out for Terry to shake. As he grabbed it, he noticed a black ring with small words on their middle finger. 

“I’m Terry. I love your ring. Can I ask what it says?” 

“Thank you. And yeah, it’s just a quote from these earth movies I like. ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away…’ I was looking for an ace ring, and this one popped up in my search-”

Terry’s head jerked up, and he cut Sage off. “Wait. You’re ace too?” Sage’s eyes lit up as they nodded. “We have another person for our group!”

Sage looked confused. “What group? Is there a Pride thing here?”

“Oh no. Well, yes. Aplaria Pride is great and have events throughout the year. But I meant my friend Louise and I. We’re both ace as well, so we kind of banded together…” Terry trailed off, finding it hard to explain how important Louise was to him. He didn’t want to get into Terry’s Life Story with this stranger. “You should come over some time. But not tonight, she’s busy.”

“Louise as in the inventor Louise?” At Terry’s nod, Sage eyes widened. “I’ve read about her! Her book was where I first read about asexuality!” They had proceeded to talk about being ace, books they read, and all kinds of other things. Terry had started helping Sage shelve books so they could keep talking. After about 45 minutes, a magically amplified voice interrupted their conversation.

“The library will be closing in ten minutes. Please finish up and exit the library.” Sage looked over at Terry. 

“You as busy as Louise tonight?” Terry shook his head. 

“I was just looking stuff up for an extra credit project. It’s not due for a couple months.”

“Well, I have those movies I was telling you about-”

“Star Wars?”

“Yeah. You could come over, we could get food to order.” Before Terry could speak, Sage’s eyes widened. “As friends, of course. I’ve enjoyed talking to you, and figured we could hang out-”

Now, most people would assume that Sage was acting this way because they were interested in Terry. However, Terry recognized their panic as coming from a place completely opposite of that, having had the same problem many times in his life. “You’re fine. That sounds a lot better than listening to Louise curse through a gas mask all night.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few months later, their friendship was as established as a lot of much older friendships, to the point where if they agreed to meet at one of their places, they just walked in rather than knock. One night, Terry came over to Sage’s house to watch ‘The Princess Bride’, which neither of them had seen. When he came in the door, however, he didn’t hear the normal greeting. 

“Sage?” He walked in further. “Are you ok?” He suddenly picked up the sound of muffled crying coming from the bathroom. He hurried over to find the door ajar. He knocked. “Hey, what’s up? Can I come in?” The door was pulled open the rest of the way in response, and what Terry saw froze the breath in his chest.

Sage was standing by the sink with a bloody nose and a black eye. Terry could see the tear tracks running down their face, cutting through the dried blood. They were shaking slightly and holding scissors, which were obviously being used on their hair. Half of it was sloppily cut to their chin. Terry almost ran over to hug them. “Oh my god, what the hell happened.”

Sage’s voice was quieter than he had ever heard before. “I was in town today, and that bastard Carl came up to me, catcalling me.” Terry made a face at the name but didn’t interrupt. Carl had been harassing Sage for the past month, making explicit comments and misgendering them. “I told him to go take a running jump, and he suddenly grabbed my braid. He pulled me close and grabbed...everywhere, and whispered shit about how my hair was too long to not be a girl, and how he was going to fix me…” Sage’s voice cracked, but they continued. “I punched him in the throat, and we fought for a bit, until Greg came and pulled him off. He got taken in and he should get charged.” Sage’s voice dissolved into tears. Gesturing to their hair, they choked out, “I just want it gone.” 

Terry held them for a while until they stopped shaking. “Ok. Let’s get your nose fixed up, then we’ll look at the hair.” Terry had Sage grab their phone, and they played music as he cleaned them up as best he could. Then he took the scissors and carefully evened out their hair. Because of the erratic cuts from before, he had to cut it all the way to their ears. When he was done, Sage looked in the mirror. After a long silence, they spoke.

“I can’t do anything with it now.” One of their favorite things was to play with their hair. Terry’s heart broke as Sage surveyed themselves. “Though, it’s a shit ton lighter.” They swished it around. “Less shampoo.”

“It’ll grow out.”

Sage sighed. “Yeah.” After another round of silence, they turned around. “Well, let's watch that movie. I’ve been told it’s the best movie ever made, and I for one have high expectations.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage never grew their hair beyond shoulder length after that. If asked, they would always cite ‘easier maintenance’, but Terry noticed every time they were purposely misgendered, they touched their hair, and his heart hurt for them.

They moved on, letting their pretend smiles go as soon as they rounded the corner. Both spoke simultaneously:

“Apple Cobbler?”

“I’m sorry people are like that.”

Sage sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t.” They smiled at Terry, grateful that most of the people they knew were like him, and not like the merchant. “Now, back to the matter at hand… Apple freaking cobbler?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feedback is neat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go.

_Many moons ago before Earth and Efrana were linked._  
Monsters roamed our land  
Before our treaties were conceived and inked  
Some tried to take a stand 

_Their leader was an unknown beast_  
That erupted from hell’s gate  
He wasn’t merciful in the least  
Known for his fiery hate 

_This is the tale of Sidrezara_  
He hoped there wouldn't be a tomorrow   
If he didn’t get his way. 

_He sent his allies to and fro_  
Fighting to keep the status quo  
Until we won and locked him away 

_He shimmered from the mountains to the moor_  
Choosing different forms to take  
He walked through minds as if they were doors  
And left carnage in his wake. 

_With a touch he could sow fear and rage_  
With a word he made minds break  
Make you think you were locked in a cage  
Or drowning in a lake. 

_This is the tale of Sidrezara_  
He hoped there wouldn't be a tomorrow   
If he didn’t get his way. 

_He sent his allies to and fro_  
Fighting to keep the status quo  
Until we won and locked him away 

\- Excerpt from the folk song “The Tale of Sidrezara” by the Top Choir at Efrana University

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yeah. I mean, it is damn good cobbler.” For whatever reason, this made them both giggle uncontrollably. Their conversation about Louise’s cobbler theory had taken them a ways away from the merchant, and Terry was relieved Sage didn’t seem too hung up on that interaction. However, that didn’t mean he stopped feeling a little bad for them. But he had heeded their request and continued talking about Louise’s theory, leading to this laugh attack. Their continued discussion of its merits carried them all the way to her front door.

At their knock, Louise flung the door open. Her hair was a cloud of curls on top of her head, and she wore a purple, heavy duty apron and gloves whose yellow seemed to have the sole purpose of clashing with her apron.. Her annoyance at being interrupted cleared immediately when she saw who was on her doorstep. “Terry! And Sage, it’s been too long. How are you?” She herded them inside as they responded and reciprocated her pleasantries. Once they were all seated with glasses of lemonade, Louise eyed the two friends. “So, did you come see me just for the hell of it, or do you need something?”

“We need your help. Not that we don’t love your company-” Louise scoffed at Sage’s back pedaling and motioned for them to continue. “Sorry. Alicia is missing. I saw her flying through the village-”

“One of those damn moths has been harassing her, Louise. And I left the door unlocked last night on accident, and-”

“Terry says we can summon her with apple cobbler? So we need you to make some-”

“Or we could make it. We don’t want to impose-”

“Of course not, we would make it-”

After multiple failed attempts to stop the two talking, Louise cast Silence on the youths and put her head down on the table. She slowly raised it back up to see two indignant faces looking back. “Oh, don’t give me that. You two got into one of your speed talking sessions where you finish each other’s sentences and I can never follow you or get a word in edgewise.” The two quickly rearranged their faces to look contrite until Louise lifted the spell. “Now. All I got is that Alicia is missing and something about a moth. I take it you’re here for some cobbler?”

Terry and Sage nodded in relief. “We’ll help with whatever you’re working on.”

“And we’ll get the ingredients.” Louise shook her head and smiled. These two shared something special, and she was glad she got to have a part in it. She gestured them to follow her to the kitchen.

“Luckily, you won’t have to get ingredients because I was planning on making some today anyway. And I will accept your help, but let’s get Alicia first. She'll be useful as well.” She winked at them. “And of course, we can’t leave a friend behind.”

They got working, and Louise had them tell her the full story (much slower, of course). They finished that as the cobbler went in the oven, so Louise told them about her newest project: super elastic rubber. “That’s why Alicia will be helpful: a more consistent source of heat.” Sage and Terry listened as she discussed the equations she had been working on, then they all started coming up with a game plan. Sage was not a magic user, but their logic had helped them in more than a few projects. Soon, the timer told them the cobbler was done (literally; it was one of Louise’s favorite inventions, as well as her most lucrative). Louise went and pulled it from the oven and turned to Terry and Sage. “Well, it shouldn’t be long now before she-”

She was cut off by a guttural cry from the front garden. The three looked at each other in alarm. Terry was the first to unfreeze and sprint to the door. What he saw would change his life forever, and push him down a path of danger:

Alicia was in a fight for her life with a creature. It was hard to pin down a description, because it seemed to shimmer between forms constantly. Terry locked eyes with it and felt a wave of terror flow though his mind. He staggered a bit, only barely able to process that this fear wasn't entirely his own. Louise shoved her way past Terry and screamed a spell he didn’t know. A white beam shot forward, hitting the creature. It ran away with a crazed laugh, which made Alicia fall to the ground. She didn’t move.

The terror that had seemed to grip his mind faded with the creature. Sage saw him shaking from its aftereffects, grabbed his hand, and held tight. Louise turned around and looked at them. Her face was a mass of anger and heart stopping fear. She motioned to them. “Help get Alicia inside. Hurry.” 

As she made to turn around, Sage stopped her. “What the hell was that?” Louise’s green eyes locked with hazel as if they were trying to make sure Sage could handle the next words.

“That was Sidrezara.” 

Sage’s eyes widened. “From that song?” Louise nodded and went through the door without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter! Feedback is great. Have a lovely day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woo

_My dearest Martha,_

_It’s been months since we last saw each other. I understand why they had to separate us; without magic, I would be no use in the battles you’re fighting. But I wish I could be with you. I hope you still love my cheesy romance, because I would rather die a fiery death with you than live a hundred years without. I suppose fighting for our right to be together will have to suffice._

_How are you doing? I hope your front is going well. I hear stories from the commanders. I wish I was there, your battle seems much more exciting than this self-righteous witch hunt. I remember learning about a place called Salem back on Earth which was known for its witch hunts. They were based on hate too. I never thought I would see myself fighting the same kind of forces._

_I love you. I know I say it in every letter, but I hope you know. I bet you wish you had fallen for some Efranian guy instead of my ordinary ass. Would have made things easier. But I wouldn’t trade you for the world, and thank my lucky stars everyday._

_I heard Stella’s doing well. Our daughter turns five today! I can’t wait to see her again._

_Yours always,  
George_

_George,_

_Hope everything is going ok for you. I haven’t slept in a couple of days. My hair’s green now from some late night games. Can’t wait for you to see it._

_God. I wish I could see you. It’s bullshit they kept non-magic users on the other front. The whole point of this damn war was to unify us._

_Sorry. I miss you. And I’m tired. You were always better at the sappy stuff than me, but god, I’m so glad I found you. It is the honor of my life to be able to fight to be with you._

_See, that probably doesn’t even make sense. I had never fallen for anyone before you. I looked, but no one made me feel the way the books said. I don’t know. I love you. I don’t say it enough. I bet you wish you had fallen for a normal earth person instead of me. You wouldn’t be risking your life for them. But we’re here, and I’m glad._

_I’m going to stop trying to fulfill your sappy role. I heard Stella’s doing all right. Five today, wish we could have been there. But we’ll see her soon._

_Yours always,  
Martha _

\- These letters were found on George and Martha’s bodies, unsent. They now live in a box in Louise’s attic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sage, get me the purple bottle on the third shelf to the left.” Sage yelled their acknowledgement of this request from the potion cupboard. They had been sent to get supplies to help Alicia while Terry and Louise tried to work their magic. 

Alicia hadn’t moved since Sidrezara (Sage shuddered at the thought) left. Her black scales seemed dull, and her eyes were half open. They caught a glimpse of oozing claw marks down Alicia’s left flank before being sent to the cupboard. Sage tried not to focus on this image as they grabbed the purple bottle and hurried back. They handed the bottle to Terry, who looked up with wild eyes.

“Why the fuck didn’t we just summon this?” Terry was talking a little too loud for the space he was in. He performed well under pressure, but usually got testy as well.

“I cast Security on the cupboard, you know that. Now stop snapping at Sage and focus.” Louise clearly had more on her mind than the dragon in front of her; Sage knew an injured animal didn’t cause Louise this much stress. Her hair was falling from her headband as she muttered spell after spell. Terry was pouring drops from the bottle in his hand, mumbling equations that Sage couldn’t follow. The liquid bubbled as it hit Alicia’s wounds, seeming to clean the blood from the scratches. “Sage, I’m sorry dear. I don’t think you can do anything at this point. Do me a favor and wait in the den?” Sage nodded and left their two friends to their work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry let out a muffled scream as he desperately calculated how much of the elixir to put on Alicia. He had never seen wounds this deep before, not even close. They learned about magical medicine in school last year, but he never expected he’d have to treat anything on this scale. There hadn’t been stuff this bad since the war-

His train of thought was interrupted when Alicia started groaning on the table. “Alicia, oh my god, can you hear me?” Alicia slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes locked with Terry’s before she let out a blood-curdling shriek. 

“Get them away from me! Make them stop, TERRY PLEASE.” Her body contorted as she continued to wail in draconic. Terry stood over her helplessly, looking at Louise for help.

“Damn, that bastard must be making her see things.” Louise tried to put a comforting hand on Alicia’s shoulder, but Alicia wrenched it away. “SAGE.” The redhead sprinted in at the sound of their name, stopping in the doorway at the sight of Alicia. “Sage, sing to her.”

“Sing what?”

“It doesn’t have to be anything, just sing.”

Sage thought. That damn Sidrezara song had been stuck in their head ever since Louise had said the name, but they figured now was not the time. They desperately racked their brain for a song.

“Why the hell do they need to sing, Louise?” Terry couldn't take his eyes off Alicia and was visibly upset.

“Music was known to help people Sidrezara messed with. And since Sage is the best singer here, I called them.” Louise looked over at Sage. “Anything will do, I promise.”

Sage hesitated before singing. 

_Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea, and frolicks in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee…_

Terry snorted, which made Louise smack him. Sage smiled and kept singing, thinking about sitting around the campfire when they were little singing this song. 

Alicia slowly started to calm down, her wails turning to whimpers. She let Terry hold her claw as he murmured in draconic. After some back and forth, Terry looked up. “She’s talking about moths. I don’t know why.”

Louise shook her head. “Sidrezara preys on the inner feelings of whoever he is attacking. He must have found Alicia’s fear of moths and amplified it.” Sage paled. 

“Damn, he’s got a lot of ammo against me, then.” Their hazel eyes focused on nothing. The only thing that seemed to keep them in the present was the song still curling forth from their mouth. 

_Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came  
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name_

The room was quiet, Terry’s whispers contrasting with Sage’s melody. Once the song ended, Terry stopped whispering, which let Alicia's now-calmer breathing permeate the room. Louise shooed Terry and Sage away. As they walked away, Terry leaned in to Sage’s ear; “What do mean he has a lot of ammo against you? We probably won’t ever see him again.”

Sage looked at their friend. “Terry, you didn’t grow up in Efrana. You haven’t heard the legends. Sidrezara is a monster. He’s going to show up again.”

Terry paused. “Well, we’ll hide then. It’s no big deal-”

“It’s a big fucking deal! Sidrezara was against reunification. He believed magic users were better people!”

“Well, come on, one thing can’t do that much-”

“You don’t understand. They used to kill non-magic users. People like me. And there’s a lot of people who wouldn’t mind going back to that.” Sage was almost in tears. “No one could do anything concrete now, but I got looks everywhere I went in my old town. If someone came in and confirmed these people’s biases, you don’t know what they’re capable of.”

“Confirm their biases, Sage, that’s ridiculous. You’re talking like one of those political analysts from Earth-”

“And you saw what happened there! And I’m so sorry I am thinking about my well being, I know you haven’t had to worry about any of this since you came here-”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I was kicked out of my house! And what happened on Earth was politics, not some monster coming up from the deep.”

“It’s all the same to people who feel like someone else is stealing their prosperity. Anything to scapegoat someone else for their failure. Efrana and Earth are much more similar than a lot of people will accept.”

“Ok, fine, but we don’t have to do anything.”

“Dammit Terry, I’m not going to stand by. We have a jump start, we can stop him.” Sage glared at Terry. “And if you won’t, I’ll go myself.”

Terry watched Sage storm off in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Feedback is awesome. Have a lovely day.


	6. Chapter 6

_Dragons, both wild and domestic (though don’t call them that) are a common sight in Efrana. They come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from the small Garden dragons you might find eating your azaleas and nightfern, to the monstrous Mountain dragons that occasionally block the moon in the winter. (For a more in depth look at dragons, see How to Train Your Dragon: And Actual Manual). For hundreds of years, dragons have, for one reason or another, chosen to join forces with one or more humans. Sometimes they seek a good or service. Sometimes they feel they can help. Sometimes they simply wish for companionship. Whatever their reasons, they are a staple of most Efranian communities._

\- from A Guide to Beautiful Efrana, brought to you by the writers of “A Quick and Dirty History of Efrana”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a few hours since they had carried Alicia in. Alicia had been mostly coherent for about thirty minutes; however, whenever the topic of Sidrezara was mentioned, she started to shiver again. So Terry stuck to general discussions of weather, local happenings, and his job from the night before. 

“Damn, they took a table from the green room without asking, then complained it didn’t support their weight?” Terry nodded. “People sometimes. Glad I’m not one of them.” Alicia took a sip of lemonade. She was conducting this conversation from Louise’s couch, having been helped to move there after she came to.

“Rather proud to not be human for a dragon drinking out of a Grateful Dead glass,” Louise called from the kitchen. Her voice sparkled with her normal friendly teasing, which made Terry feel better. He knew, of course, that she was only being this calm in an effort to keep Alicia calm, but he still found comfort in her banter. She continued teasing Alicia; “I think you become more human everyday!”

“What? I can’t find some of the things you all do helpful? You all are alive for a reason, you know, and I appreciate that fact.” Alicia had a wicked grin as she fell into the verbal sparring match with Louise. “And if sleeping in a bed instead of a cave makes me ‘more human’, then so be it.”

Terry sighed through a slight smile; he was glad Alicia seemed to be ok. His exhaustion started to creep over his mind, and he was distracted by memories of meeting Alicia. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry was 17 and screaming in a field. That is, he was screaming until the wind was knocked out of him by a shiny black shape. A shiny black cursing shape.

“Why the actual **FUCK** are you screaming like that?” Terry was slowly focusing on the creature now straddling his chest. “What could have possessed you to come out and yell at every single creature I might have been able to turn into my meal in a twenty mile radius?”

“You’re…” Terry struggled to regain his ability to breathe properly before plowing on. “A dragon.”

“No shit. A hungry dragon at that. Now don’t worry, I won’t eat you, most of us aren’t into human meat-”

“I know that.” Terry’s control of his airways was returning, along with his stress and annoyance. “I’ve read some books about dragons.”

The dragon rolled their eyes. “Whoop-de-fucking-do, Einstein. That doesn’t explain why your ass (they punctuated this with a hard poke to Terry’s chest) was screaming for no reason.”

“Look, I have exams coming up and they’re kicking my ass, which is why it was screaming.” He rubbed the spot where the dragon had poked him; even though their claws were retracted, it still hurt. 

The dragon leaned closer to Terry’s face. “Well, I sure hope it helped, because now MY ass can’t find anything to eat.”

“OK, OK, I get it. Could you possibly get the fuck off of me?” He tried pushing the dragon away, but only managed to shift them back. However, the dragon moved off and surveyed him as he sat up, groaning. Terry noticed their gaze; “What?”

“Not many humans can move me. Or even try.” They pondered a moment. “And it isn’t often they curse back at me so quickly.” Another moment of pondering. “I’m Alicia.”

“Terry. And I’m a stagehand. I lift a metric fuck ton of stuff and I’ve never been good at taking shit lying down.” He slowly got up, keeping an eye on Alicia. 

“Good to meet you, Terry. I am humbled to accept your offer to replace the food you scared away with a meal at your place of residence.”

“Wait, what-”

“Let’s go.” Terry didn’t feel like arguing with a bike sized dragon, so he started back home with her in tow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What you grinning at, you ghost?” Alicia’s _Field of Dreams_ reference brought Terry back to the present. 

“Just thinking about when I met you.”

Alicia snorted. “When you were yelling in a field about some tests and I knocked some sense into you?”

Louise jumped in: “And then you conned us for a meal?” 

“Excuse you, I was accepting restitution.” The three friends started giggling, which slowly morphed into outright laughter.

Once the three’s laughter had subsided, Louise turned to Terry. “Dear, did Sage go home? I haven’t seen them.”

“Um. I don’t know, actually.” Terry shifted in discomfort as he thought about their fight. “I’ll go see if I can find them.”

“Can I talk to you first?” Terry nodded. Louise looked over at Alicia. “You ok if we step out for a second?” Alicia nodded. Louise led Terry to the next room. She grabbed Terry’s hand and held it for a second. “I heard you and Sage shouting. And now you're worried and guilty. What’s going on?”

Terry pulled his hand away to stop Louise from reading him. “They want to go after that thing, and I was trying to get them to calm down. But I understand why they feel that way, and want to help whatever they do, but I said some bad stuff-”

“You do that a lot, Terry. You have a hot temper you need to learn to control.” Terry started inspecting the carpet at his feet. Louise sighed and pulled him into a hug. “Look. Let’s find Sage, get something to eat, and we can talk about what we do next.” She pulled away with a worried look in her eyes. “She does have a point, you know. Sidrezara is not something to be taken lightly.”

Terry watched her leave to check on Alicia. It didn’t take empathic powers to feel the fear radiating off of Louise. He shivered slightly as followed her out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is cool! Hope you are enjoying!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter drew on stuff rattling in my head after Charlottesville.

_THE NEW ‘EFRANA HOLD ‘EM’ BAG!_

_The newest product from the illustrious Louise will break even the strongest poker face!_

_Imbibed with extension magic, this bag is a ROYAL FLUSH!_

_It’s more accessible than five card draw!_

\- The advertising concept devised from the one and only time Louise tried to outsource her marketing. This attempt is why it was the only time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage fought back tears as they sat in the spare room. They had stormed away from Terry about 15 minutes ago, which had given them time to come up with a basic plan. Granted, this plan was only six words:

**Hunt him down and kill him.**

Sage figured it would work itself out. It had to. They got up and walked over to the closet to investigate a corner of dark green material. As they carefully dislodged it from near the bottom of the pile, someone entered the door behind them. As they turned around, they spoke. “Hey Louise, I think this is one of your bags they gave that clumsy poker theme to…” They trailed off as they saw it wasn’t their mentor but their best friend standing behind them.

They looked at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time. Finally, Terry broke the tension. “I know that I was being insensitive. Before. I was worried about your safety, and I got carried away making it about myself.”

Sage nodded. “You know this is something you do a lot? You feel strongly about something and you steamroll people. And, I mean, for most things we talk about it’s fine. It’s opinion stuff, like the best flavor at Ben’s, or whether the original trilogy is better than the prequels.” They took a steadying breath before continuing. “With that stuff, it’s ok if you don’t agree. It won’t change someone’s existence. But with Sidrezara and things like that. You very well have the option to stay quiet. But it’s not an option for me.”

“Sage-” They put up a hand to stop the interruption, tears sparkling in their hazel eyes.

“What I’m trying to say is, this isn’t an opinion. It’s whether I deserve to live in fear. And you just wanted to keep me from fighting because you wanted me safe from this immediate threat. You aren’t fighting for your life, so you won’t try to understand why someone else would put themselves in danger.”

“Sage, that’s not what I meant. It’s-”

“It doesn’t matter what you meant! You think those people telling me I ‘look pretty as a girl’ mean to be transphobic?”

“Oh come on, that’s not the same thing-”

“Yeah, it is. You have magic. You have no clue what it’s like to be from Efrana and not have magic-”

“Oh, so getting kicked out of my house for magic gives me no insight-”

“Oh my god. Like I said before, it’s not the same. You can’t say you understand my struggles because you had different struggles. That’s not how this works.”

Terry opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, but stopped. He cursed under his breath before looking up at Sage. “Ok. Ok. Look, I came up here to help and I just made things worse, let’s just start planning.”

Sage shook their head. “I’m not done yet.” Terry paused with his fingers in his hair. “Terry. There’s my point. You are choosing to join this fight. And you desperately want an easier way out, less risk. But that won’t work. I am here telling you that we can’t just hope. And you thought your perspective was better.” Sage had been focused on a spot past Terry for a while, but they wrenched their eyes to connect with Terry’s. “I am glad you are helping now. But you have to understand that I feel a little less safe now because my best fucking friend wanted to stay silent. And if _you_ wanted to stay silent, who would speak up?”

Tears dripped down Terry’s face. “Sage, I’m sorry. I just-”

“Stop.” Sage was holding back sobs with limited success. “I needed you to know. And understand. Now please leave. We’ve got quite a journey ahead of us.” Terry tried to come in for a hug only to find a hand pushing him back. “Not now, Terry. This kind of thing doesn’t fix fast, nor does it fix on its own. Just… think about what I said.”

Terry quietly left the room. As soon as they were out of earshot of each other, they both let go of their composure and sobbed. 

Louise, who had heard most of the exchange, sent Alicia to Terry while she went up to Sage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sage was working through their slowing tears. A piece of paper sat on the dusty desk with items listed in the neat scrawl of Sage’s hand. Louise knocked, jolting Sage from their concentration. 

“Hey dear. Just wanted to come help.” Sage nodded as they went back to the list. Louise walked over to the closet and Lifted things out of the way to grab the forest colored object Sage had been struggling with earlier. “You want to use this? I’ll take this ridiculous stuff off.”

“I was going to ask you about it, actually. Thanks.” Louise carefully spread the bag out before looking up at Sage. But before she could say anything, Sage cut in. “Look, I know I shouldn’t be that hard on him, but it’s so hard-”

“Oh hell no. You probably could’ve gone harder. It shouldn’t be your job to teach people history and force them to help others, but that’s unfortunately where we’re at.” Sage was so surprised they had stopped crying. “No, I was just going to remind you that Terry, and probably many many others through what we’re about to do, is working off of what society teaches. And yes, not everyone needs to get physically involved. But that doesn't give them a right to be silent. And it’s getting that out, it’s teaching that, which is going to be the most valuable weapon. Each person that learns the danger of silence makes to harder for evil to take root. The majority of people who live through atrocities don’t agree with it if they know. But they don’t do anything either, which is what lets them happen.”

Sage got up to sit with Louise. “I’m just so scared. And I mean, I wasn’t thinking about all that stuff. I was just trying to let him know my feelings, because he’s my friend and-”

“And you also have more feelings for him?” Louise had a mischievous look in her eye. 

“Louise, please,” Sage sputtered. “Not every friendship between people of different genders means-”

“Sage, I was aroace before you were a twinkle in your parents’ collective eyes. You really think I’m basing it off of that?” Sage inclined their head in acknowledgement. “Believe me, your friendship is just as wonderful as any possible romantic shenanigans you could have, if not more so. I just watch you two, and I can see little things.” Sage paled at this. “Oh no, you aren’t being obvious. I’m kind of good with feelings, remember.” Louise held her hand up at the last comment and winked at Sage. Sage giggled a little bit before a shadow crossed their face. 

“But… I just kind of got super upset.”

“Which, as I said, you had every right to do.”

“Yeah. But it probably didn’t help the relationship, and what if this whole _thing_ comes out, it could ruin everything again-”

“Breathe. First off, what just happened with you two? It’s either going to make you two better or this relationship isn't worth having. And I don’t think Terry will let the latter happen. And as for the romance? He’s not going to find out unless you tell him.” Sage nodded hesitantly. Louise put a hand on their arm. “You told me what happened with Kathy. I promise no matter what you decide, it won’t happen with Terry.” Sage nodded again, more sure this time. They both turned at a hesitant knock at the door.

“What can I do?” Terry stood in the doorway, clearly trying to give Sage space. His jaw was set. Sage turned to their list and starred a few items.

“Can you gather these?” They handed Terry the list. They looked at each other, hazel eyes searching brown. They nodded at each other, then Terry left to start getting ready. Louise and Alicia (who had slipped into the room behind Terry) looked at each other and smiled slightly. Their friends would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Shares, kudos, and comments are super awesome.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahaha sorry it's been so long. But here's an update!

_Magic requires different levels of energy depending on what is being done. Magic users have two categories of talents: Intrinsic Manifestations and Learned Manifestations._

_Intrinsic Manifestations are the powers specific to each magic user. These require no training to use (though one can train themselves to use them more efficiently) and see negligible personal energy drain. There are infinite possibilities for what these powers can be, ranging from empathy to plant husbandry. It would be ludicrous to assume that every user has different IMs, but since there has not been extensive research as to why a user develops their specific IM, it has never been a topic of hot debate._

_Learned Manifestations are what most people think of when they think of magic: spell casting and the partially connected art of potions. These require training to do and see varying levels of personal energy drain based on the spell; the more complicated the spell, the more drain. Spells require certain words, hand movements, and mental components to work, and potions require spells. Because of this, non-magic users can assist in the making of potions, meaning the potion industry has been a big part of the effort to integrate the magic and non-magic communities._

\- From _A Guide to Magic_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry had gotten everything from the list that he could find in Louise’s house. “Ok. We can do Quick Feet back to our places to pack our stuff. Feather Light the stuff. And then Quick Feet back.” He thought for a second. “I mean, if we think after we pack we will get some rest, I’d be willing to do one Teleport from your house back here with all the stuff.”

“There’s probably still stuff we need to do when we get back, so Quick Feet will be fine.” Sage winced inwardly as they said this, remembering the few times they had been under Quick Feet before. Apparently it felt the same for Terry, which only made Sage feel a little better about the pounding heart and lightheadedness. However, they knew it was the only viable option: Teleport was too draining to do more than once, if they did it at all. It had one of the highest energy drains, which is why it wasn’t used frequently. This made Sage think. “Hey Terry?”

“Hmm?” Terry was writing a note to Louise explaining what was happening. She was passed out on the couch, Alicia reading next to her. 

“How strong was that spell Louise threw at Sidrezara? Because I know the healing she did shouldn’t get her close to where she is now.” 

“Honestly? I think it’s on par with Teleport.”

Sage’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. How did she last this long, then?”

“Adrenaline. Louise is also damn good at magic. She probably has more energy than most other magic users.” Terry thought. “But also adrenaline.” He put the note on the table next to the couch and quietly told Alicia what was happening. Then he and Sage went out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry looked around his room. He muttered quietly as he grabbed things out of drawers and closet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage is in their room.

_sleeping bag, socks… **gonna die gonna die gonna die** … coat, water, pillow… **gonna die die die gonna die** _

Their thoughts screamed in their head. It was always worse when they were alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry grabs Alicia’s cold weather gear, not knowing where they were going. He stopped for a moment when he saw her bed out of the corner of his eye. 

It was only that morning when he woke up to find her gone. And now he was getting ready to hunt an ancient horror.

Terry sighed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**You can’t do this** gloves **You aren’t worth it** rain boots **They don’t love you** medication _

“God damn it,” Sage yelled, their hands reflexively undoing their hair. It wasn’t until their hair was completely free that they were able to pull their shaking hands away. Cursing more under their breath, they walked over to their speaker and put on their usual playlist. 

_shut up and dance **why are you alive** is my destiny she said **worthless**_

At least it was quieter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Terry and Sage got back, Alicia came trotting over. “Did you get my hat, Terry?” He nodded, lifting his hold’em bag slightly. “Good. Louise is in her lab.” Terry and Sage dropped their things in the front hall and followed the dragon to the lab. Louise was clearly trying to decide what to bring, her hair still half down from her nap. As she turned around to greet the kids, Sage couldn’t help but notice the circles under eyes that reflected some last resort of the last resort of energy. Sage thought about what Terry had said. 

“Terry dear, could you grab my travel cauldron and ingredient kit?” Terry nodded and disappeared. Without warning, Sage walked over to Louise and hugged her. 

Louise squeezed them back, then pulled them away to look at their face. “Well, what prompted this?” 

“I’m just glad you’re coming.” Sage watched as the fire grew in Louise’s eyes. Louise squeezed them once more and let go. Terry walked back in with a case and handed it to Louise. She opened it up to inspect the contents.

“I’m assuming you both called your works and told them what was happening?” She didn’t look up until she noticed a long silence. She looked up to see twin looks of horror. “Oh my god, you haven’t?” They shook their heads. Louise sighed and closed her case. “Let’s go do that, my silly, silly, young friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might post a mini chapter with their calls. Thanks for liking and commenting on this story! (you know what time it is)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini chapter.

“Sage, I know you don't like phone calls, but do you really want to go into work and try to explain this?” Terry was sitting at Louise’s kitchen table, talking to Sage as they stared at the phone in trepidation. 

“Maybe I do.” Sage sighed as they turned. “I just don't understand why phone calls feel so much worse than talking.”

Terry got up from the table as if he had decided something. “You know what? I'll go first, give you a model. Help show your brain that it's fine.” 

Sage smiled weakly at him. “All right. Thanks.” 

Terry smiled as he picked up the phone and dialed his work place. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy was sitting at her desk when the phone rang. She recognized the surname as Louise’s. “Hey Rick,” she called, “it’s that inventor lady. Terry’s friend.” 

Rick came in, an air of annoyance still surrounding him from the previous night’s call. “Oh hell, that can't be good.” He grabbed the phone. “Rick speaking.” 

“Oh, hi Rick!” Terry sounded tired. “So, um. I've had something come up. And I'm gonna need some time-” Rick cut him off with a groan. 

“How long do you need?”

“Well.” _Oh good._ “I'm not actually sure about that. You see-” 

“Terry, what the hell? You know we’re coming into a busy week.”

“I-”

“We have eight shows in six days. Six! I've gotta scramble to find guys now, T.” 

“Um-”

“And do you know how hard it is to find magic guys these days? They don't want to be doing this and it makes things that much harder-”

“Rick!” Rick stopped his tirade, breathing heavily. “Look, I know it's been hard. I was there last night. But I can't control my emergencies. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to do without me.” 

Rick pulled the phone away from his ear for a second. “He's got a point, you know.” Rick glared at Amy, but only half heartedly. 

“Yeah, he does, doesn’t he. Bastard.” He raised the phone again. “Sorry T. Just. Be back when you can.” 

“Will do, Rick. Tell everyone I say hi and ask em not to miss me too much, alright?” 

“I don't think that’ll be hard,” Amy said with a wicked grin. Rick rolled his eyes. 

“Have a good night, Terry.” Rick handed the phone to Amy to hang up. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry hung up with wide eyes. He slowly turned to Sage. “Well. Um.” 

“That went great, Terry.” Sage watched as he ran his fingers through his hair. “But you know what? I think you did help. In a weird way.”

Terry looked at them, confusion written on his face. “How could that have helped?” 

“You know how my brain loves worst case scenarios?” 

“Yeah?”

Sage picked up the phone. “I think I just saw it, and I don't think I can do worse.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam jumped when the phone at the circulation desk started ringing. He raised an eyebrow when he read the display. 

“Who is it?” Cat came around the corner carrying a stack of books. 

“Louise. You should probably take it.” Sam grabbed the books from her as he said this, leaving her free to grab the phone. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi Cat. It's Sage.” 

“Hi Sage! What's up?” 

“I was calling to see if I could get some time off.” 

“Oh-” Cat tried to speak, but was thwarted as Sage started rapidly talking. 

“I know it's short notice and I am sorry, but something came up. I'll use my vacation and work extra when I get back, I hope it's not a bother-”

“Sage.” The voice on the other end finally trailed off. “You're fine. We have all these high schoolers who will be thrilled to have hours. Do what you need to do.”

“Thanks, Cat.” 

“Now, the important thing: are you ok?”

The silence on the other end unnerved Cat. Before she could say anything, Sage finally answered. “It's hard to explain. There's just… stuff I have to do.” Their time sent a shiver down Cat’s spine. She had never heard them so serious. And there was something else she couldn't put a finger on…

“Well, let us know if you need anything, ok?” 

“Of course. Bye Cat.” 

“Bye.” She hung up the phone, still vaguely ill at ease. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage spun around to a visibly peeved Terry. “Well, that wasn’t so bad!”

“Well, I suppose if one of us was going to have issues, I prefer it to be me.” Although he acted annoyed as he muttered this, he couldn’t keep a hint of a grin from his face. 

Suddenly, laughter erupted from the doorway. Sage and Terry looked over to see Louise and Alicia. 

“Were you two listening in?”

Alicia smiled. “Of course we were. How could we miss that brilliant show?”

Louise chuckled. “I was originally on the line to help if there was an issue, but you seemed to be doing fine.”

“Fine? My boss-”

“You handled it very professionally, Terry. It was a very adult experience.”

Sage started laughing when they caught a glimpse of Terry’s affronted expression. He put his head in his hands. “Damn it, why am I friends with you all?”

“Do we really have to answer that?” Louise grinned at Terry and ruffled his hair. He looked around. He saw his adoptive mother, his best friend, and a dragon that ‘chose to be associated with him’. He saw the three black rings representing what brought them together. And he saw the people he was about to save the world with.

“Nah. I guess not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wonder what that was all about.” Amy couldn't read Rick’s face. 

“I don't know.” He thought about how tired Terry sounded, which was out of character. He had seen the kid more alive after 20 hour calls. He sighed. “You know how I said I felt weird earlier today?”

“Yeah. I thought you just said it was some magical disturbance.” 

“That's what it was. But now I'm worried…” He trailed off, lost in thought. When he saw Amy’s look, he tried to shake it off. “I hope Terry’s careful.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sage ok?” Sam looked worriedly at Cat’s unreadable expression. 

“I think so. They can take care of themselves.” Cat grabbed the stack of books she had been getting ready to re shelve. As she went through the motions, her eyes stopped on a book describing special operatives from Great Unification War named George and Martha. 

Her heart dropped as she realized what she had been unable to identify on Sage’s voice earlier. 

She had watched a special on the War a few years ago featuring George and Martha, and they had sounded the same as her friend. 

They had been describing missions that eventually led to their deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are great! Have a good day!

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is neat! You can find me on tumblr at one-true-houselight. Have a lovely day!


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